Out of seven insurers in China, outlooks for six were rated 'negative', according to Fitch Ratings, while t the seventh remained 'stable'. A 'negative' outlook "reflects a potential decline in the willingness and ability of the government to support insurers with weaker standalone credit quality, during times of financial stress", Fitch said.
China's contribution to French global reinsurer SCOR's overall business is expected to increase to at least 10-15% in the next 10 to 20 years, with income from insurance premiums in China set to double or even triple, said Mr Thierry Leger, CEO of SCOR.
Since the reopening of Hong Kong's borders in February 2023, the insurance industry in Hong Kong has experienced a strong revival, with a surge in interest from both local consumers and Mainland Chinese visitors (MCVs), the latter helped by an easing of travel restrictions, notes BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.
The unaudited 1Q2024 net profits reported by China's five major 'A-share'-listed insurance groups amounted to a combined CNY83bn ($11.5bn), 9.2% lower than in the corresponding quarter in 2023.
Insurance perpetual bonds remain relatively new to onshore investors in China; however, the market for these bonds is expected to mature over the long term, supported by improving investor confidence and market depth, according to Mr James Chan, director of analytics at AM Best.
Major listed Chinese insurance groups' recalibration of their economic assumptions in the computation of embedded value (EV) and new business value (NBV) in 2023 will enable them to adeptly manage long-term investment risks, says Fitch Ratings. Major listed insurers lowered their assumptions of investment return and risk discount rates in response to the continued low interest rates in the country.
China Life Insurance, the nation's largest life insurer, has announced that its net profit fell year on year by 9.3% in 1Q2024 as investment yields declined.
PICC Group has reported a 23.5% plunge in net profits attributable to owners to CNY8.96bn ($1.24bn) in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
Motor insurance premiums accounted for 43.7% of non-life insurers' total premiums in 1Q2024, representing a drop of one percentage point from 44.7% in 1Q2023, according to data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA).
Insurers have paid compensation amounting to over CNY206m ($28.5m) as of the end of April 2024 for losses caused by heavy floods in Guangdong last month.